Framed Just Right: Media Framing of the Affordable Care Act During COVID-19

This study is a content analysis of New York Times (NYT) articles covering the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that examined the use of frames and covered topics to observe ACA coverage throughout COVID-19. This study utilized methods from Jahng and Littau’s (2022) study to see if trends in framing differed between their pre-COVID-19 and this study’s COVID-19 time frame. Results indicate that framing tendencies during COVID-19 are similar to pre-COVID-19 tendencies with episodic-policy and thematic frames being the most utilized frame types. Framing was typically correlated with the pertinent themes of the time which were typically either a focus on the politics around the act or the ACA’s effect on poor or uninsured Americans. Ultimately, results indicate that framing of the ACA reflects the issues and events presently affecting the nation, which may have a larger effect on public sentiment towards the act and the American healthcare system.